Finally, we reach the quarter-pole (almost) of Sengoku Youko. Though it feels like the series has already introduced enough material for all three cours. I feel as if Mizukami Satoshi refied his craft from Hoshi no Samidare to Segoku Youko, and then again with Spirit Circle. Sengoku, for me, has an air of grandness and sweep with no wasted space that elevates it about its predecessor, great as that is. And with Spirit Circle he pulls off something even more remarkable, creative a similarly huge and even more moving story with absolute economy. It’s always fascinating to see the evolution of the true geniuses of manga, and Mizukami certainly is one of those.
It’s clear that the lives of the Tama trio have changed significantly with their introduction to Yama no Kami, though whether she represents a true ally is less certain. The cheerful Goddess is happy to explain her wishes to the three, and the fact that she doesn’t have to show off how powerful she is signifies just how powerful she is. This is not simply a katawara, or certainly a human – this is a God. “Lesser” she may describe herself, but she’s on her own turf here and she’s the one calling the shots. Perhaps she could force the youko and two young humans to help her if she wanted, but at the very least she prefers to rely on persuasion.
Her aim, she says, is Taizan. Or Yazen’s moving castle, as he’s affectionately known to manga readers. He’s a mountain God himself – a sleeping one, she says. And what the Yama no Kami wants is the trio’s help in waking him up. Yazen is hiding his presence from her, and she needs their help to break through. It’s a good deal, she says – she’d be taking care of one of the Dangaisyuu’s three greatest assets. The other two being Jinun the Dragon and someone called Kuzunoha. And as soon as Tama hears that name, she goes a very unhealthy color.
There’s a lot of explaining to be done here, but Jika graciously defers the explanation about his fairy eyes so Tama can learn about what her mother has to do with all this. It’s not pretty – she and the young Yazen fell madly in love when he was on a mission, and using her power, they wiped out his squadron of monks and she went into hiding. His whole focus has been on turning a katawara into a human, and Yama no Kami muses that the whole genetically enhanced battle human thing may just be a diversion for him. Her explanation is cut short by the arrival of Rinzu (Suzuki Aina) – a pixie-ish girl YnK describes as something of a cross between an apprentice and a pet – who takes one look at Jinka and immediately falls madly for him.
Meanwhile, Senya having defeated the tengu only to have them disperse into crows who cast a spell to keep them lost, he and Jinun are meditating near a “spirit pocket” on the mountain. YnK is determined to use whatever means she has at her disposal to keep Jinun distracted (including shameless tanuki), so he sends Senya off (maybe to protect his virtue as well) to “act on his own”. As the only human ever to have 1000 demons implanted in him, Jinun says, the boy is more than capable of taking out Jinka Yamato himself.
As it turns out the Mountain Goddess has a very good reason to try and sideline Jinun for as long as she can. She wants to level up the trio before sending them off to battle. And while she can do a bit of time manipulation on her own turf, she implies that there are limits to it. She splits the group (and herself) up – Rinzu and her main body going with Jinka, and two little seedlings of herself going with Tama and Shinsuke. Each has a task to accomplish in the name of exceeding their limits: Shinsuke to split a giant boulder (hmmm) blocking his path, Tama to walk across a pond despite distraction, and Jinka to defeat Rinzu. And YnK promises the latter that if she wins, she’ll bewitch Jinka to make him fall in love with her.
Now that they’re alone (with Rinzu) YnK finally spills the beans on Jinka’s fairy eyes. There’s a lot to unpack here, but the revelation (he knew of course) that he’s a twin explains a lot about why Jinka is the person he is. His parents may have had a good reason for abandoning him – fairy eyes only occur in twins, and when they’re together they draw dangerous attention. But it doesn’t make accepting it any easier. Still, confronting this is the key to unlocking the power inside him – and his fate and that of his twin are inexorably linked.
Jinkas’s reason for being as misanthropic as he is may seem rather mundane, but it’s exactly as Yama no Kami says – he’s just so very, very human. This story is full of people wanting to be something they’re not, each for their own reasons. Tama is struggling to overcome her own block, but for Shinsuke, the key to overcoming his limitations is to free his imagination and stop assuming he’s powerless. In fact he’s the first to complete the task the Goddess lays out (to her surprise), and returns to the real world – and a meeting with Senya, who’s somewhat distracted by a toy (as if it’s the first one he’s ever seen) given to him by a fearful little katawara.
Snowball
March 8, 2024 at 6:32 amSenya is cute in this episode. I find him quite compelling.
Guardian Enzo
March 8, 2024 at 9:28 amStrap in.
Raikou
March 8, 2024 at 9:51 amJinka’s story reminded me of Hoshi no Samidare’s Amamiya Yuuhi’s problem with his granpa.
This is kind of training arc, but not the usual training arc in Shonen. Also, Senya seems to be a key person in all of this.
Nicc
March 9, 2024 at 8:42 amThis was another packed episode with more big reveals and the start of a mini training arc. The Mountain Goddess did consider herself an ally to them, but you’re right that deities may have different ideas about what that means compared to mortals. Right, she could have forced the three of them to do her bidding, but decided to engage in some quid pro quo instead. She wants to reawaken another lesser god like herself, Taizan, from his sleep. He just so happens to the Yazen’s castle that Jinka got smacked by earlier. He’s been brainwashed into serving Yazen and she intends to give him a smack to bring him back to his senses. There’s just the trouble of trying to find said castle and she needs their help for that. Having Taizan back will deprive the Dangaisyuu of one of their three most powerful assets. Jinun is one of the others and the last one is somebody named Kuzunoha. Right, Tama didn’t have a good reaction to that name for some reason.
I had the same reaction as the other two guys. Now, that explains that one scene with her and Yazen in the OP. Who hasn’t got family issues, eh? A young Yazen was on a mission with a group of other monks to hunt down a katwara. Kuzunoha was the one they were hunting, but when she locked eyes with Yazen, it seems like it was kismet. The other monks were wiped out and she’s been hiding with Yazen since. It’s his intention to turn her into a human. It’s the opposite of Jinka who wants to turn into a katawara to be with Tama. The enhanced humans seem to be a byproduct of Yazen’s experiments. Indeed, any more is cut off when a bunch of crows enter and along with a young girl named Rinzu. It looks like Shinsuke even in his angry mode is still being used a source of comedy. She brings news that the tengu have been defeated, but not before they dispersed into crows and cast a spell to keep Jinun and Senya lost. It’s a powerful enough spell that Jinun needs some time to break it.
We already had a love at first sight story, so how about one more? With just one look, Rinzu falls hard for Jinka. Sorry, lass, but humans aren’t his type. Learning this, the Mountain Goddess wants to keep Jinun distracted as long as possible as she trains up the group. Jinun decides to send out Senya to act on his own. He’s got 1,000 katawara implanted in him? Just what did Yazen do to this boy? The Mountain Goddess uses some time manipulation to extend the training time as long as possible and splits up the three into separate pocket worlds. Shinsuke has to get past a boulder in his path, Tama has to walk across a pond and Jinka has to duel with Rinzu. The Mountain Goddess herself also splits up. The main one is with Jinka while two chibi-sized seedlings go with the others. I see some merchandising opportunity there.
While trying to avoid attacks from Rinzu, the Mountain Goddess tells Jinka about his fairy eyes. I’m not sure if that bewitching magic deal is a bluff or not, but Rinzu is certainly motivated. He also cannot die in this world and so she can go all out. Right, we learn about how he’s a pair of twins and why they had to be separated. He was the one who had to be left out and that’s how he ended up with his master, the late Phoenix Killer. Indeed, it’s facing this that allows him to unlock his power. This also suggests that his twin brother will show up eventually. Now, he has to learn how to use those eyes. In the meantime, a Chibi goddess is distracting Tama as she struggles to walk across the pond. It’s Shinsuke who passes first after realizing he doesn’t have to cut that boulder get through the obstacle and instead learns to fly over it. It’s a nice “W” for him, even if the others don’t get to see it. Impressed, the Chibi goddess takes him to the real world where he crash lands into Senya. Senya is oddly fascinated by the toy that the katawara left behind. You’re right, I was also thinking that looked like he’s never seen a toy before. Just what kind of childhood did he have? I wasn’t expecting an encounter between Shinsuke and Senya and so I have no idea how that’s going to unfold.
While I was working on this, I also learned that Akira Toriyama recently passed away at the age of 68. He’s one of the most influential mangaka ever and created millions of anime and manga fans (“Dragonball” is still massive in LATAM, it’s wild). Hold the balls collection though, folks. It’s been a long, long time since I’ve watched any “Dragonball” media, but I can still remember that those who have died a natural death cannot be revived. It’s OK, though. He’s just going to “another dimension” and certainly not going to HFIL. Rest in peace.